Hustlin' Owls are national champs!

OIT Hustlin' Owls: National champs!

My old alma mater, Oregon Institute of Technology, from which I graduated in 1988, and at which my father was a football coach for some 25 years, won the NAIA Divsion II Men's Basketball National Championship on Tuesday.

Congratulations to the Hustlin' Owls, and especially to head coach and old family friend, Dan Miles.

This is the Owls second national championship, the first occurring in 2004. This time around, OIT was the eleventh seed in the national tournament, and tore through the competition, beating second-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene in the semi-final and following that up with an upset win over top-seeded Bellevue (Neb.) to win the championship.

You can read an account of the final game here.

Coach Dan Miles

I'm very pleased for my old school, of course. And also for Dan. As I mentioned, he's an old family friend that I've known for almost all my life. Dan was gracious and kind when my father passed in 1991, and I know that Dad considered Dan to be one of his good friends.

Anyway, congrats to all. Go Hustlin' Owls!